A Task Of Great Importance
by Mistress Sorcha
Summary: Castiel fears for the health and sanity of his Charge, Dean Winchester. He enlists the aid of Sam to complete a very special task, one that with save Dean, but what he asks and what Sam finds may cause irrepairable harm to Sam in the process...


Warning!!!! Disturbing content will be introduced in future chapters....definitely not for the faint of heart!!!!

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Sam was lying in bed, the covers half thrown off again,…he had had another nightmare about Alastair torturing Dean…

Dean wasn't really telling him everything that went down while he was in Hell,…and knowing his brother, he might not ever be able to….He probably thought he was protecting his little bro, but really, not knowing made it so much worse in Sam's eyes…

He rolled over onto his side…

He could see Dean's chest rising softly,…he seemed to be having a peaceful moment of sleep for once…

Sam felt a little twinge of hope,…maybe,…if Dean could just hold on a little longer, he could get through this…Hold on Dean…hold on…I'm right here if and when you're ready…Sam thought silently…

He lay watching Dean sleep for a little while longer, content to see him rest even a little…

He decided he had better get up and get a few things done…he'd just had to be sure to be really quiet so he wouldn't wake Dean…

He rolled over gingerly and swung his legs over the edge carefully, so he didn't make the squeaky bed springs make any noise,…he stood up and headed toward the kitchenette of the hotel room they were staying at….

He rubbed his hand over his face wearily and when he opened his eyes, Castiel was standing there, leaning against the sink, his hands slightly behind him, bracing him against the counter's edge…

"Hello Sam"

Sam couldn't speak at first…he tried to make his mind and mouth work together as a team but it took a second of opening and closing his mouth for him to get out a coherent thought in the form of a sentence…

"Castiel…uh,…what are you,..I mean, uh….do I need to get Dean?"

Castiel observed Sam for a moment, cocking his head the side as he studied the young mortals face….

Sam felt himself shift his weight from one foot to the other in unease and uncertainty under the piercing gaze of the angel before him...

"No Sam, I am here to speak to you…You needn't worry about your brother for the moment, I have put him in a deep sleep state,…he will able to rest there…." Castiel paused for a moment to watch Sam's reaction.

Sam, at the mention of Dean's name, couldn't help but to look back at Dean...He took a long look at his brother, the moment of peace making sense now…so he wasn't getting better…Castiel was only able to give him a short reprieve from the torment…

Sam's eyes slowly filled with tears, his moment of hope lost…

He had to look away before he lost control…he looked down at his feet for a moment and then closed his eyes…His brother's pain threatening to overwhelm him…

"I have watched him sleep often….he does not rest,…his mind, his memories,…won't let him rest…" Castiel said in his low, lulling voice…

Castiel's words made Sam's eyes burst open, causing his welling tears to spill over the brim of his lower eye lid…his heart muscle tightened, clinching at the thought that his brother never had peace, not for one moment since he'd returned…he felt shaky, dizzy,…he knew he needed to sit down before heis knees buckled and he fell down….he stumbled to the old battered chair in the living room and sank into it's depths….his hands he subconsciously wrapped around his torso….he leaned forward cradling himself as he rocked slightly back and forth…40 years in Hell wasn't enough? Now he has his own personal Hell locked into his mind, too? There to forever torment him until his mind shatters completely…

His pent up emotions flood over him in a torrent, everything he had kept inside, trying to stay positive for Dean…..His own time without Dean, the very essence of his own personal Hell, was a mere four months…

It had nearly shattered him….

Dean had endured unimaginable torment and pain, had been made to do unspeakable things, things that tore at his very nature, his overwhelming protectiveness of others that constituted the very fabric of his being….

Castiel followed Sam into the living room, he observed him as his emotions gripped him,… he could see how deeply Sam cared for others, especially his elder brother….It was for this reason that Castiel had hope for the young mortal…his capacity to care could be the thing that saved him…but, Castiel must wait to see what Sam did with the tainted part of himself…if he could reject it completely and cast it out he would be worthy of saving, if not, unfortunately, Castiel would have to stop him…A small whispering voice in his mind was deeply saddened at this prospect, as he thought he knew what would happen to Dean if this came to pass….the damaged soul within him would simply cease to fight and he would shatter beyond repair…

"Sam Winchester, I must speak with you…." Castiel said, his voice deep and slightly ominous,… "Your brother is of great importance to us…which is why I must ask for your help…"

Sam's eye snapped open when Castiel spoke…his liquid-filled eyes fighting to focus on his as his mind tried to absorb all that Castiel said…

"My help,…you need my help?...What do you need me to do? If it will help Dean, I will do it,…whatever it is….I'll do it…" Sam's voice was husky, the moisture had gone from it while he had slipped into the fit of despair…A tiny flash of hope sparked inside him…maybe he could bring Dean back form the edge…maybe there was still a way…

"You must finish you task here,…afterwards, we need you to travel to the south….I will furnish you with the information you need…"

Sam bounded out of the chair and located a pad and working pen as Cas relayed the information… he told Sam of the task he was needed for then went to look upon Dean for a moment…

Sam stood a little behind him….

"I will give him as long as I can to rest, but the working will not last forever, Sam….You must hurry in your task,….he will not last long without rest…."Castiel looked upon Sam one last time, nodding his goodbye, he was gone in a rush of wind and the shifting, fluttering sound of wings…

Sam watched his brother sleep, knowing how badly Dean needed the respite from the pain…he silently made his way to the other bed and gently set himself upon it, pulling his legs under him, indian style and watched Dean sleep his blissfully dreamless sleep as he pondered on the task Cas had set for him…he knew it would be difficult, but he was determined to do as Cas asked…

He would save his brother, especially from himself…

He had to,….he was his big brother….


End file.
